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Web 20 and Wikis

Page history last edited by PBworks 4 years, 11 months ago

What is Web 2.0? Listen to the audio podcast.

 

If you’re reading this, then the chances are that you probably know what “blogs”, “wikis” or “social networking” are, however new or unusual these terms might look.  

Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube – all of these popular sites use blogs and wikis and encourage social networking, and are all examples of what has become known as “Web 2.0”

 

However, according to Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the world wide web), Web 2.0 is nothing new: it has been possible to upload your own materials to the net or to edit online documents ever since the internet was invented.  Indeed, this was one of the original concepts of the internet.

 

Why, then, has Web 2.0 only really emerged over the last few years?  

The answer to this is quite simple – much higher speeds are now commonplace.  With an old-style dial-up modem it would have taken several days to upload even just a few photographs.  Added to that, the huge growth of the internet over the last decade means that its reach is now genuinely global.

 

Web 2.0 is great for sharing photos, listening to new music, finding funny videos or catching up with old friends, but is that all? What implications does it have for business?

It may seem that most of the features of Web 2.0 are only for fun, but their implications are already profoundly affecting some businesses.  

 

Most obviously, the music and film industries are now fighting a battle against online piracy and what they regard as theft of copyrighted materials.  With users of some websites swapping music and video files, major record companies and film studios believe that their profits are being attacked.  These businesses are operating a two-pronged strategy to tackle this problem: they are setting up their own sites where users can legally download music or movies, but also threatening website hosts and end-users with legal action.

 

As the first prong of this approach shows, Web 2.0 need not have only a negative effect.  Some big companies are creating their own versions of Web 2.0 style sites for themselves.  

Web 2.0 blurs the rigid distinction between producer and consumer, and as this happens new professional roles are being created.  

 

Up until a few years ago bloggers were merely people who kept online diaries.  Now the importance of bloggers has been recognized – these are people whose ideas and opinions can influence many thousands of people.  

Reviews of films, books, music or restaurants and even the political opinions of bloggers can have huge effects. Some technology companies, especially, are targeting bloggers with their new products: a good review from a blogger can be worth thousands of pounds in publicity value.

 

Above all, companies are asking themselves the question: is there money to be made in Web 2.0?  The answer is yes.

Firstly, advertising. More traditional print and screen media are already noticing reductions in the amount of advertising revenue they are earning as big corporations are moving their advertising budgets to the net. Google – for example - offers paid advertising space, and one appearance on a Google page can be seen by literally millions of people.

 

Secondly, there is the “long tail.” The long tail is when, for example, a company like Amazon can offer a wide range of books which will only ever sell very few copies (unlike a normal bookshop) and, by selling one copy of a thousand different books can still make a profit. It is a new economic phenomenon which has been heralded as the future of online commerce by a number of commentators.

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